Moms' living truth and passion

About Me

Date Posted: April 2013

As I learn my way through this process of sharing through social media, wanted to quickly share a few facts about me here:

1. Born in Malaysia and raised in South East Asia primarily in the city I call my hometown, Hong Kong, even though I have resided in the States the longest both on the East coat (NYC) and currently West coast (San Francisco area).

2. Attended a liberal arts college in Vermont (Middlebury College, US News ranks it at #4 on their top ten liberal arts colleges in the US, where I majored in Political Science). I am compelled to note this as my whole family attended Ivy League Schools both under and post grad and so I am often asked why Middlebury and my response with a smile is, “it’s the best school where I was accepted” so I often like to point-out it is on ‘a list’ :).

3. Joined Bloomingdale’s Management Training Program upon graduation and spent my career in retail management and buying with various companies ranging from The Gap to Ferragamo and a Hong Kong based Department Store with international travel.

4. Met and married the father of my two children ages 8 and almost 12 years soon after graduation.

5. Took 9 months to get pregnant with first child and was diagnosed with postpartum depression when she was 1 1/2 years old.

6. After settling into motherhood and overcoming PPD (postpartum depression), my 2nd child was born when 1st was 3 1/2 years old.

7. Enrolled children in every imaginable activity, joined playgroups and volunteered at their respective schools.

8. Upon our arrival to our current hometown of Los Altos, CA (Bay Area), my family urged me to take a break in the day to do something for myself. I had a 2 hour break.

9. In December 2007, I stepped into a fitness facility which upon reflection was a defining moment in my life (I had no idea at the time but it’s pivotal to where I am today).

10. Flash forward to today, I can not imagine a life without exercise. When I stepped into the fitness facility, being known simply as Debbie and not Mom of or wife to, is where and when I realized the power of regaining one’s identity as a Mom. Fitness became something that others looked to me for advice and where I found another purpose.

11. As I tried-out classes, what I had learned from personal training sessions became apparent as other instructors started asking where I taught when I was just a student and participant in their class.

12. I contemplated teaching and then it became a dream 2 years ago as I couldn’t imagine standing in front and leading a 45-60 minute continuous class counting, cueing, showing and motivating!! I have yet to teach a perfect class as all instructors know, a perfect class doesn’t exist :).

13. How I got from dream to reality was learning how to teach from my favorite instructor at the kickboxing facility where I had been a member and where my passion for fitness developed from struggling with attending two personal training session per week to religiously attending at least 4-5 classes per week.

14. I subbed and demo’d and persisted with any and every contact at every facility I could think of in the area until I was offered an opportunity to volunteer at a Y and soon after was hired at a private facility then hired by 3.

15. After a few years at the cardio kickboxing facility and two years teaching, I found my way to another facility (fate in my favor) where I had no intention of joining but where I am today.

16. The facility is another home to me…and truly is a community of like-minded individuals who live the lifestyle of health and fitness. I am so grateful for the timing and fortune to have found my way towww.fns360.com.

So today, I live my passion for fitness where I have found purpose and where my strength is fueled by my peers and other women who ask me questions of how, what and now I am here to pay forward what I have learned and help to inspire women to find the strength to make daily choices that lead to a life of passion and purpose.

Yes as a Mom, I have had to make compromises and am no longer as active in my children’s schools where I once served on the PTA board and signed-up for a lot of volunteer projects and with a very involved and supportive father of my children, I have been able to nourish this part of me that I hadn’t realized needed attention:

It’s not easy being a Mom with a career and/or passion but it’s possible. Compromises will be made along the way but I believe that one must be happy with who they are and what they are doing to be able to then share their love and care for their children. I have experienced the spectrum and am at crossroads again in life where I find strength in other women who are able to make the decisions they need to and where I will leave my journey here and continue on www.bicepmom.com…thank you and believe!!

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Date Posted: September 2011

Recently group fitness certified, I am an avid cardio kickboxing student (4 years-to-date) and TRX fan and have completed 6 half marathons and shorter distance runs. Cardio kickboxing is my passion which I have personally reaped the benefits of increased stamina, endurance and strength. Realizing that cardio, strength and diet are all essential components to one’s health, I hope to inspire family and friends to share in my journey towards a healthier and fitter lifestyle.

After being a full-time Mother for almost ten years, I am excited to embark on another phase of life and a 2nd career to help motivate, empower and to inspire others (especially Moms’ my age) to fulfill their fitness and health goals.

These were/are the goals I set for myself:

1. Enter and complete a short distance race (I started with a 5K then 10K and then half marathons with a full marathon as my next goal).

2. Become an instructor (I am group fitness certified, learned a class outline and have taught 6 classes).

3. Get added to a regular group fitness schedule (I am currently demo’ing and auditioning to see how I like teaching and if there is a fit).

4. Lose some weight gained after 2 children and a more sedentary lifestyle but I tried not to make it my primary goal (weight loss occurred over a year and has been maintained).

5. To inspire other women of my generation to find their passion and to “go for it” (by starting a blog….)

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11 responses

Hello,
Reading your ‘about me’ section, I realized we had so many things in common… Oddly enough we are considering moving to the Bay Area this summer from the east coast and i also have two kids… Any advice for me?

Morning, my name is Kishana Sainte and I am the media relations representative for MyDocHub.com. Upon reading you blog I found that it was very informative to the everyday mom on how to keep themselves healthy while especially while being a mother.. This blog was very easy to find the exercise tips. It is exciting to watch you through your everyday journeys. Your tips and product reviews are well received. I wanted to request to write a guest blog on your Bicep Mom Blog. Your blog promotes to the health and fitness readers and so do we. The straightforward, evidence-based, and natural health information on your blog is what MyDocHub is all about. I look forward to receiving your response to my request. You can email me at kishana-sainte@mydochub.com. Have a great day.

Here are some blogs from MyDocHub.com pertaining to motherhood and health, and fitness:

Several people have recommended your blog and thought you might be able to help. We have a site that caters to moms. It allows them to store digital memories and then release them to their kids in the future. We are still in the “testing” phase and wanted to see if your readers would like to participate and get a complimentary membership.

We would appreciate if you could do a blog post and/or social media mention, informing them they can visit http://www.kairoslife.com to register their email address.

From there we will update them when we are ready to start testing the site. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mark, thank you for your comment. I visited the site and love the idea. I’m currently figuring-out a model for my blog as what started as a hobby is now something I’d like to dedicate more time and effort. I will be in contact once I’m able to confirm what sponsorship and cross-promotional ideas I will be using going forward. Best, Debbie